~ Suhasi Khanna
Diary_of_a_Wimpy_Kid is not just another middle-grade fiction book series, but the whole series has become an incredible phenomenon in diary fiction among middle schoolers. Most of the children relate to it as a part of their childhood. The first “Diary of a Wimpy Kid” was published in 2007 by an American author and cartoonist Jeff Kinney. All the books in the series are believed to be the journal diaries of the main character, who is Greg Heffley. As of 2020, the series has sold more than 250 million copies globally to date and has also been adapted into movies, merchandise, games, spin-offs, do-it-yourself books and much more which have contributed to its enormous success.
Recently, the fifteenth instalment of the series was released in October 2020 known as the “Diary of a Wimpy Kid: The Deep End”. This book follows the life of Greg Heffley and his family’s adventures beginning from staying in his Grandma’s basement due to the ongoing renovations to a family camping trip in a camper van that their uncle Gary left behind. The story has a lot of “adventures” that this family experiences during their family vacations.
I believe this is such a great time for the release of this book when everyone is looking to escape from this lockdown (or grandma’s basement), right? The characters are so diverse that a large number of people will find themselves relating to the characters. The awkward, shy and forever hopeful Greg Heffley; the notorious and carefree Rodriek; the forever optimistic and turning everything into a learning lesson Susan; and carefree and typical dad Frank. The writing style and the illustrations make it an easy-to-follow story without following all the previous editions of the series. The author’s humour would most likely appeal to the children of the middle school age group and even older as well.
Conclusion
The elders should encourage their children to read these kinds of easy to follow yet fun and interesting storybooks because it helps in developing the personality, perspective and reading habit of a child. These kinds of fictional books address issues like family time and screen time in a fun and humorous way, which are some of the essential things that children need to understand. In a very humorous way, it also shows the readers that not every family is perfect like fairy tales which helps their children in coping up with reality a little. Readers will enjoy the humour, mess and adventures or disasters to be more accurate, in the book. If you’re looking for a book to give to some middle-grader child, this would be a perfect option. Even if you’re looking for a light read for getting you out of your busy mundane routine, grab a cup of coffee and follow the adventures of this family. The Wimpy kid fans can pick this book and dive into the nostalgia and revisit the good old times with a new instalment in the series this time again.
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